Uma Musume Girl, I'll tell you about my Santa Hat special move too?

McQueen scanned the other participants at the large table in front of him: Toyama Crimson, Super Stream, Ennis Wind God, Miura Bourbon, Rice Bath, East Business Reform, Twin Turbine, Excellent Quality, Azure Sky...

It looked like a harmonious dinner party with friends from Stardust Fantasy.

She cried out in anguish, then suddenly picked up the juice in front of her and gulped it down:

"...Ha! But why is even Little Te here?!"

With a bang, McQueen slammed his empty glass onto the table and loudly complained to his teammates beside him.

"Ugh...!!! Huh?!"

Zhou, who was unexpectedly called out, hurriedly chewed and swallowed the various kinds of meat in his mouth, revealing a panicked and surprised expression:

"W-What's wrong, McQueen?"

"It's nothing... I just wanted to ask, why did you come, Zhou?" McQueen explained weakly.

"Because... Stardust and I are food buddies!"

When this topic came up, Zhou's eyes almost lit up:

"Stardust truly lives up to her reputation as the second generation of Oguri Hat. When I occasionally run into her in the cafeteria and we eat together, it feels just like when I was with Oguri Hat back then!"

“I also often send some carrots from home to Stardust. She called me before and said that she invited me to dinner as a return gift.”

After explaining a couple of things, Zhou, seeing that McQueen didn't seem to be asking any more questions, quickly threw himself back into the great struggle of battling the hotpot in front of him.

She avoided the East Merchants' Revolution, who was playfully fighting with the Stardust Illusion at the opposite table, and huddled alone in a corner, stuffing food into her mouth with a blissful expression...

Meanwhile, McQueen, who had already drunk his fill of water, could only slump in his chair with a blank look in his eyes.

The competitive spirit and courage that Aldan had previously ignited in McQueen had long since vanished. McQueen, his eyes gleaming white, was utterly exhausted, continuing to mutter to himself:

"I was so stupid, really... I only knew..."

Chapter 307 Takarazuka Memorial, the competition begins!

6 month 19 day.

Under this clear blue sky, the next race will be the G1 Grand Prix at Kyoto Racecourse, a 2200m turf track, for 10 participants!

The stands were already packed to capacity, filled with the cacophony of chatter and the host's enthusiastic shouts to liven things up before the official start of the competition.

At the very front of the stands, three little girls were linked by their tails to keep from getting separated, their hands gripping the railing tightly. They leaned forward and shouted:

"Miss McQueen! Miss McQueen will win!!!"

"Overlord!!!"

"We must defeat that despicable tyrant!!!"

Even though the field was still empty and it was far from the time for the players to enter, these enthusiastic fans had already started cheering for their favorite players.

Ah, perhaps the little girl who shouted last didn't have the same pure intentions as the other two?

However, unlike the Northern Black Horse, who only wanted to see Stardust Illusion fall like the Emperor, both Good Opera and Satomi Kozumi had immense expectations for this match.

That's right. Starting with the misunderstanding that happened between the three after that derby, Good Opera gradually became familiar with North Black and Light Diamond.

Ultimately, all three of them are just children, and they are also able to deeply appreciate the charm of the other female racehorses.

So even though the players they supported were different, and even though North Black had always been somewhat resistant to Stardust Illusion, it didn't stop them from getting along well and becoming close friends who could talk about anything.

Even the best opera singers have become accustomed to North Black's attitude and even understand it—if you think about it carefully, if Stardust Illusion were to lose or even be injured in its battle against the East Sea Emperor, then she would also…

Hiss, Good Opera finds itself that even in that situation, it seems it wouldn't resent the victor, but rather believe that the overlord will surely seek revenge?

Never mind, I don't care.

In short, North Black doesn't actually have any bad intentions; at most, it just doesn't want to see Stardust Illusion dominate.

The dazzling Stardust Illusion, fighting as the Overlord on the field, is so captivating that it's perfectly normal for it to evoke such emotions in other supporters.

(Well done, great opera—as a ruler, one should magnanimously accept all doubts and resistance, and then completely subdue them with one's own strength!)

Just imagining Stardust saying such cool words to her made Good Opera feel hot all over and excited.

She shook her ponytail vigorously, eagerly awaiting her appearance.

And there's no need to mention diamond drills.

In her eyes, who also bore the trust of her family, Megumi McQueen, who was able to fully inherit and even carry forward the glory of Megumi and dominate the entire long-distance race, was a role model for her from the very beginning.

(O divas of the meadow, dance for us today!)

After silently offering a prayer, Guangzuan turned to the opera beside him and said:

"TM, Stardust Illusion is the only classic-year player in this competition... I'm afraid he'll face a very tough situation."

(Author's P.S.: What should we call a good opera? Historically speaking, "TM" might be a good name, but it sounds strange. What do you readers think?)

"Huh?"

When Hikari, who usually knew the most about Uma Musume, suddenly said this to him, Kōgyō paused for a moment:

"Lord Stardust just broke the record in the derby by a full two seconds! That's an epoch-making feat!"

In order not to diminish the prestige of the "Diamond Dance" before the competition even began, Good Opera quickly retorted:

"Moreover, the distance of 2200m in this race is also within Stardust's area of ​​expertise! -- Hmph, McQueen supported by Light Diamond should indeed be quite difficult to deal with, right?"

"But... we will win!"

Good operas, with their unwavering confidence, disregard objective conditions such as intensity and age.

In her view, the overlord known as Stardust Illusion, no matter what difficulties he faces, will seize that one and only miraculous power to win.

This was something she, as a follower of the Overlord, had always firmly believed, regardless of any reason.

“What you said makes a good point. If it were a long track of 3000m or more, then Miss McQueen would have an overwhelming advantage. It’s a pity that the Takarazuka Memorial is only 2200m…”

Satomi Hikari didn't object to Good Opera's statement; in fact, she nodded in agreement with the argument about distance. But before Good Opera could excitedly declare victory in the debate, she changed the subject again:

"However, this match isn't just a duel between Miss McQueen and Stardust Illusion."

"...The person we should really pay attention to is the one who announced his comeback a month ago."

"A comeback a month ago? Is Xiaozuan talking about her?"

Listening to the conversation between these two direct supporters, Bei Hei took out a booklet he had prepared in advance and flipped through it.

Upon hearing this, she immediately held up the contestant's profile page and showed it to her two friends:

On this page, the contestant's name and basic information are clearly displayed:

【Alice】

"Arisuko? Didn't she just make her comeback?"

Good Opera is a bit strange. She had of course read the information of each contestant before the competition, so she also had some impression of this strange horse racer girl who wore a white coat as her final outfit.

However, from the perspective of Good Opera, given that she had been recovering from injury for so long and only announced her comeback last month, it would be difficult for Alice Soko, no matter how strong her skills are, to be able to perform at her full potential.

In other words, there's nothing to fear!

"The Stardust Illusion you support has recently been hailed as a groundbreaking runner, right? You know Good Opera, right? The previous groundbreaking runner... was none other than this Alice."

"Huh?"

"Since his debut, he has shown a terrifying speed that is completely different from his peers, and he always achieves perfect results by several horse lengths in every race."

"Even at the Satsuki Sho, there was no rival who could rival her in the field next to her—Ari-Tachyon, who was considered by the audience to be the runner who truly mastered the Tachyon."

"ta...what is that? Isn't that the name of this senior, Alice?"

Bei Hei wore a confused expression, clearly a poor student, and didn't understand the meaning of this physics term at all.

"Tachyon, or fast particle, is a hypothetical concept that has not yet been discovered in current scientific research and exists only in hypothesis. It is a particle that can exceed the speed of light."

Guangzuan extended a finger and began lecturing Beihei and Haogeju, who were both looking bewildered with their round eyes:

"I won't explain the specifics of the hypothesis, but the fact that it's given this name means that in the eyes of the audience and other competitors, Alice's running... is like it can surpass the speed of light!"

Let's begin with Chapter 308, the experiment called Takarazuka Memorial.

"Beyond...the speed of light?"

Good Opera couldn't help but purse its lips, turning its gaze to the starting gates that had already been set up on the track, and shaking its ears somewhat uneasily.

"That's right. If Alice can really fully recover, then how powerful will she become after these two years of growth, given that she was already capable of moving faster than the speed of light back then?"

"I'm afraid... she will become Miss McQueen's greatest rival on her path to victory against the Stardust Illusion!"

The June sun shines on the grassland, bringing warmth with it.

With less than an hour to go, the highly anticipated showdown, where the contestants are chosen by the audience through voting, is about to begin.

Good Opera's gaze was fixed intently on Gate 7, through which the Stardust Illusion was about to enter:

"So what?"

The sudden opening of the opera made Hikari, who was just about to open his support board, instinctively ask, "Huh? What?"

"I said, so what?"

The beautiful operatic voice subsided, and an almost imperceptible aura of darkness had somehow permeated her being.

"Regardless of the opponent, regardless of any unfavorable conditions..."

"Stardust Illusion will make everyone understand this through its running..."

"The miracle of the Overlord will definitely continue!"

----------

"Before we entered the contestants' area, Sister Gao reiterated the things we had discussed earlier... What do you think?"

Ryan from the Mejiro family, a runner who is usually as cheerful as a boy, had a rare serious expression on his face at this moment.

She glanced at her two sisters beside her, her brows furrowing slightly:

"Do we really have to adopt the 'running' tactic as Sister Gao suggested?"

"...Helping you two younger sisters isn't such a bad thing after all."